No pictures, just a short shout out. I recently purchased an Amodel kit. It’s kit number 1408- 1/144 UC-123B/K “Provider”. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, that’s for sure!
This little plane hasn’t got anything that fits right. Except when you hold the fuselage sides and bottom together correctly the canopy area fits good. The rest is gong to require filler or “SprueGlue” applications to fix the really rough nature of this kit.
What struck me as bad is this. As little as this plane is, it is really going to test my patience. I am going to get my camera and do a W.I.P. for the first time I hope. Then You’ll see what I mean . I really hope I can make a “Silk Purse” out of this " Sows Ear "
To me it’s that bad. The panel lines and stuff are so ill defined as to be almost negligible. I have to look with a magnifier to even find some. Letchya know more later.
Older A-Model/Modelsvit/Mikro-Mir kits are generally - BAD! But as others mentioned, a lot of subjects in their catalog are unique. You need to pump up your modeling horsepower to get these kits across the finish line. I have seen spectacular builds, but none of that was attributed to the quality of the kit involved. To be fair, their latest kits have very nice detail under all those mold parting lines and warped fuselages.
Remember, in Mother Russia, you no build model kit. Model kit BUILD YOU!!!
I hear where your coming from. I have a couple kits from Amodels and Mach 2, etc. But to me one way to look at it is that eventhought the kits can be a bit rough, they at least give you a starting point for usually building something that other companies haven’t kitted. A guess in alot of ways, I kind of see them as a “kitbasher/scratchbuilders” starting point.
Amodel is very hit or miss. They do have some kits that are decent, but also some that are only marginally a step above a block of wood with some drawings to follow. [:)]
The good thing about these guys is that they are obviously trying to get better.
The Sukhoi T-10 prototype “pre-Flanker“ has lots of petite scribed surface detail. The major challenge I can see is “imagining where parts should fit” when applying the glue. How square the assemblies get is all DIY.
At the risk of sounding ungrateful, Mach 2 by comparison has shown little to no evolution since the 1980s. I have their Ar-232 “Millipede” transport, and basically it is a carcass to add your own cockpit, engines, landing gear, etc. It is still buildable, especially so in the aftermarket-rich, 3-D printer capable 21st century.
TB, I look forward to watching your epic journey unfold.
Thanks, TB. I was like 10 years old back then and I didn’t know one airplane from another. Riley and Gillis seemed to always be working on the same spot.
